Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Instead of Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, dead end seems more appropriate. John Waters (the Aussie actor, not the American director) plays a toast-of-Broadway playwright who has everything he wants except his loved ones. Returning home to Australia, he tries to win them back, mostly by telling his wife, "I've sorted myself out," and standing all teary-eyed outside his daughter's school. Turns out he has good reason to cry. But there's no compelling reason to wallow with him as he stares out hotel windows and walks down lonely sidewalks, accompanied by unmemorable and wimpy pop songs on the soundtrack. Too often, this well-meaning yet maudlin movie feels like a VH-1 music video. If only it moved as quickly. C+